Alaska Seaweed Source Inventory

These data are part of NOAA fisheries efforts to identify Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) in Alaska state waters. These data depict seaweed beds mapped during 2024-2025 in relation to draft AOA options within study areas and are provided in ESRI shapefile format. This seaweed source inventory contributes to environmental characterization as part of the AOA identification process, and may additionally support farmers and state agency officials when siting new seaweed farms in Alaska state waters. This shapefile was created through a participatory mapping process. During this process, stakeholders - including seaweed farmers, hatchery operators, and harvesters - delineated known seaweed beds using SeaSketch, a web-based GIS platform that provided base layers of shoreline maps and satellite imagery. Participants used the tool to draw polygons marking the location and species composition of beds. The SeaSketch polygons were exported to ArcGIS to create a usable data layer.